An Exercise In Subtraction

Graham and Rollins Seafood Company, Hampton, Virginia (click to enlarge)
Fujifilm X-T1, 55-200mm f/3.5-4.8 lens @ 55mm; 1/400th sec. @ f/8; ISO 400

Painting has always been an additive process.  The painter starts with a blank canvas, then starts adding structure, form, elements, colors, etc. to achieve his or her final goal. Conversely, photography is an exercise in subtraction.  The photographer starts with everything he or she can see.  Then, by a process of elimination, the photographer slowly finds the right composition to complement his or her vision.  Seeing versus just looking.

This is exactly what I did with these two images.  The final composition is above.  The image below shows the scene in its entirety.  I wanted to portray "old, small, quaint fish house with character" and not just another business in the middle of a good sized city with modern buildings around.  By a process of exclusion, in this case moving to my left and excluding everything that says "modern," I was able to find the composition that illustrated what I had envisioned.

The overall scene out of which I extracted my final composition. Behind Graham and Rollins is the Virginia Air and Space Center as well as the Crowne Plaza hotel.  They don't really fit with the quaintness of the foreground. (click to enlarge)

Additionally, there were several compositions that were even smaller in scope.  See versus just look.  You might be surprised.

Thanks for looking. Enjoy! 

Dennis A. Mook 

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